Driven by changing trends, the field of web application development has been seeing a massive change in the recent years. Earlier principles of web development do not make sense anymore, as the new ones have replaced them.
A quality web application should have unique features to make it useful for both the current and future users. It must adapt to the changes in the technology, cater to the long-term needs of the users, must offer easily maintainable setup and also grow along with the business.
The brain behind the tech, web developers can build high-quality applications when they have an understanding of the principles of modern web app development. Such principles will enable the developers to create different apps that will be able to meet business needs of various users.
1st Principle: Offer Great User Experience
During these years, web development has witnessed immense changes regarding methodologies and tools for latest devices. However, one principle remains unaffected and has attained greater significance, which is the user.
Often, the focus on the user gets shifted to few other aspects of the web development, such as applying the latest technology, meeting a strenuous deadline or rushing a project. No matter what issues might arise, it is crucial for the developer to stay focused on the primary goal, which is, offering excellent user experience. Each developer should focus on creating better usability experience for their users. It includes easier navigations, crisp design, attractive buttons, design layouts, etc.
The web application created must be readily accessible on all devices while offering enhanced user interface.
2nd Principle: Security Is Mandatory
The web developers should be aware that the hackers love to attack the online assets of business only through their web applications. Most often, the web apps experience severe threats as they do not have proper access control procedures, confidentiality features, and strict authentication processes.
Several web-based applications are also vulnerable to SQL Injection and Cross Site Sculpting too. These security threats can be prevented easily by incorporating top-notch security features, as soon as the developer begins building the web applications. It is vital to check if the authentication mechanisms are in action and if the transit of data is performed securely.
3rd Principle: Make Use Of Modern Tools
Earlier web developers used a single language for web application development. This scenario has changed now, as they are required to know several programming languages, latest architecture, responsive design, online vulnerabilities, principles of UX, JavaScript, API integration and so on.
The web app developers must get equipped with evolving skill set to handle complex web app developments. Learning about modern tools are much needed, as they will have to face several challenges such as delivering apps quickly while not compromising on the security or functional aspects as well as working under strict deadlines.
They can make use of the tools, libraries, and frameworks that would enable them to deliver the applications much quicker. Plus, tools like cloud computing, smart IDEs, etc. are quintessential for any developer, as these tools can fill up the gaps and help them achieve the tasks that cannot be handled on their own.
4th Principle: Embrace the Multi-Screen World
These days, people prefer to access the web applications through an array of gadgets having different screen sizes. So, the web developers must assume that their app would be viewed on many handheld devices with varying screen sizes. So, they must have a flexible mindset while building web apps to make it highly compatible with all types of devices.
5th Principle: Pay Attention to Architecture and Address Concerns
The web developer should never ignore the architecture of the app, as it plays a vital role in impacting its scalability, security, flexibility, maintenance, and others. The app architecture should not be visible to their users while making the overall app impact look huge.
Paying attention to database planning and initial architecture has a vital role in making the web app a successful one. They can also consider the microservice architectural style to develop a single app for a small services suite, where each would its process running and establish smooth communications with HTTP resource API or similar lightweight mechanisms.
The approach is a perfect choice for the web apps, as it breaks the backend into several resources and services while making the apps very reliable, flexible, organized and modular.
Apart from the top 5 principles of modern web application development, the web developers should also focus on creating web apps driven by speed. In the recent years, we have seen several applications demanding an increase in speed, which is due to 2 key factors.
Firstly, the users of web application users have less level of patience as their attention span is short. The developers must build web apps with the ability to deal with a significant amount of data through several data sources. When the apps are not optimized correctly, the high volume data can cause it to slow down and drive away the users.
Secondly, the businesses are required to have impressive page speed. Google followed this trend by announcing that they considered their page loading speed as a ranking aspect. It shows that slow pages will get penalized in the search results. The AMP Project having the Google support is said to be the open standard for web pages get loaded on mobile devices quickly. Performance optimization is swiftly becoming a significant element for the developmental process of web applications.